Monday, July 11, 2016

MST3K Reunion Show Review! Plus Cassa in Audio, Fates Warning, Giveaway, and Ninja News

MST3K Reunion Review

This was by far the best RiffTrax show ever!

As a celebration of ten years of RiffTrax, this was perfect. They riffed a series of shorts rather than a whole movie, and the format worked very well. Mike, Bill, and Kevin had a couple segments. They also turned it over to RiffTrax regulars, Bridget Nelson (Mike’s wife) and Mary Jo Pehl, for a segment.

Then it got even better. Trace Beaulieu and Frank Conniff did a short together. (Dr. Forrester and TV’s Frank together again!) The crowd really got into it when creator Joel Hodgson came out and did a segment with Jonah Ray, who will head up the new version of MST3K. Then it went all out and the entire cast riffed a couple shorts together.

The shorts really ranged in topics and decades. The one Trace and Frank tackled involved a girl who couldn’t get a date so she made herself available for everyone and got involved. It was set in the 50’s, so the motive was innocent, but as my wife said, in this day and age it was a film on how to be easy and... Well, I won’t say it!

Mike, Bill, and Kevin did a segment from the very early 70’s on large equipment safety called Shake Hands with Danger. Let’s just say that the short Blood Flows Red on the Highway came to mind...

The whole crew came out to riff an old Superman short about federal stamps and Lois being held hostage. (Awful short – which meant it was very funny.)

The show wrapped up with a hilarious short on the creative things one can do with grass. Yes, grass. The kind you mow. (Although the writers obviously smoked the other kind.) Everything from hats to braids to etchings. The latter prompted this comment from Mary Jo - ‘Nothing says I forgot Father’s Day like a grass etching.’

And it was a packed show - two hours and twenty minutes!

That this was the hardest I have ever laughed in the theater is an understatement. My face and sides hurt so bad when I left. I nearly fell out of my seat on several occasions. Bringing everyone together was not only brilliant but the funniest show they have ever put together. I wish they could do it every time.

There is an encore showing on Tuesday, July 12. I recommend you go. My wife and I just might go for another showing - it was that good!

And the next RiffTrax: Live show after that? August 18 - Mothra!

Now for some awesome screen shots:


Fates Warning – Theories of Flight Review

Released July 1, this is the band’s twelfth studio album.
For a band that’s been around for thirty-two years, you’d think they’d run out of fresh ideas. But this album might very well be their best – ever!
Great prog elements, mixed with catchy choruses and amazing musicianship, makes for a well-rounded musical experience.
If you listen to prog, you’ve probably heard the band members elsewhere – guitarist Jim Matheos in OSI; vocalist Ray Alder with Redemption; bassist Joey Vera with Armored Saint; and drummer Bobby Jarzombeck with Halford and Riot. If you’ve never given these guys a spin, I recommend checking out Theories of Flight.


Ninja News

Today’s Themes That Rocked the Challenge feature at the A to Z Blog is Jeremy Hawkins and his awesome theme of old, retro ads.

The votes are in! The genre of the next Insecure Writer’s Support Group Anthology Contest will be fantasy.
The theme will be announced the day the contest opens – September 7.

Dan Antion, Sharukh Bamboat, Damyanti Biswas, Mary Giese, Peter Nena, Cheryl Pennington, and Kate Powell invite you to share the story of one of your cherished objects. Talk about what it is and why you cherish it. Post a picture of it if you like. Max 500 words, the Cherished Blogfest post can go up on your blog any day between 29th and 31st of July 2016. Hashtag ‪#‎CBF16‬.
More info HERE. Sign up HERE on the Cherished Linky List.‬‬

Father Dragon Al put out a call for angels to help! This is for a person many of you know and involves a simple, caring gesture. See Al’s BLOG for details.


Don’t forget the CassaSeries playing cards to giveaway! You can enter to win by commenting, Tweeting, or reviewing one of the books. Winner will be drawn July 17. Cards will be shipped from my publisher.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Audio Books!

I’ve been waiting for the official word and it finally came last week – my Cassa books are being made into audio books!

My publisher is venturing into audio and selected my trilogy for the initial test. I got to hear a sample of the narrator they chose and he did a really good job, so I’m looking forward to hearing all of the books.

CassaStar on audio should be out by the end of August!


Who else saw the MST3K Reunion Show? (And if you missed it, you can still see it July 12.) Fan of Fates Warning? Can you help Al? Think you might be able to write a fantasy story for the IWSG Anthology? Signed up to win the Cassa playing cards? And how would/do you feel about hearing your books read by someone else?

And today I am visiting Tyrean Martinson with Five Reasons to Write to Music!

116 comments:

nashvillecats2 said...

Love the reunion part of your blog, there is always so much going on one has to read it through a couple of times to digest a wonderful blog.
Have a greast week.
Yvonne:

Mason Canyon said...

Sounds like a lot of good things going on. I love that your books are coming out in audio. I think that will be awesome and opens up a whole new avenue for reader/listeners. Congrats!

The Cynical Sailor said...

Very exciting that your books are going audio! I've recently started to listen to audio books. While it's not the same as reading them, I enjoy listening to them while I work on projects.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

Excited about your audiobooks! That's been a reliable source of income for me...so many people listen while they commute or exercise, apparently.

Ten years of RiffTrax...wow!

Truedessa said...

Congrats on the audio books, I know some people who listen to these on their commute to work. I would much rather sit and read a book. At the gym I am about music as it gets me moving.

Have a great week Alex!

Liza said...

Hurray for your audio books! What fun!

Unknown said...

Congratulations on the audio books, Alex. Fantastic news!

Thanks for the shoutout to the Cherished Blogfest-- hope to see many bloggers join this easygoing and intimate blogfest.

Damyanti

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Sounds like the reunion was a lot of fun!

Looking forward to seeing what the fantasy theme is for the anthology.

Two of my books are in audio format, but since they don't sell well, I haven't put the other books into audio yet. Maybe when my sales are more consistent I can have them done through ACX.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Congrats that your books will be audio books. That's so awesome! And love the anthology theme.

Yolanda Renée said...

I would love to hear someone read my books. So cool.
Fantasy, hmm... will give it a thought!

Jeremy [Retro] said...

WoW, so much going on cannot wait for the new cool released audio books and thank you for my interview... I am somebody, maybe good things will start coming my way? Fates Warning, I have only heard of them, not heard them... I have to change that soon.

We all aren't anything without friends and family!

Jeremy

mshatch said...

Congrats on the audio deal! Nice :)

Cathrina Constantine said...

Congratulations, Alex! I never realized how popular audio was until recently!! My son listens to books all the time because he has a long drive into work.

T. Powell Coltrin said...

Audio is so important for those who need it and ME while driving in a car. This is great news.

I love to laugh. One time in a theater while watching a movie, I laughed so hard that I sort of went into hysteria, couldn't breathe and stepped outside for a minute. I went to the theater twice to see that movie with different people.

T

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Mason, I hope so!

Elizabeth, that's good to know!

Truedessa, I need music at the gym.

Damy, you're welcome!

Jeremy, you're welcome. And you have to listen to Fates Warning!

Catherine, good to know.

Teresa, that's funny.

Hart Johnson said...

I have no idea how you keep track of everything. I didn't catch the reunion, but I do remember watching MST3K on Comedy Central once upon a time. It was the only way to save some movies...

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Congrats on the audio books, Alex!

I had a couple of my stories turned into podcasts/audio, and it was wild to hear them read out loud.

kaykuala said...

Congrats on your audio offerings, Alex. It is a big leap forward.Keeping pace with tech advance is certainly a progressive thing.

Hank

kaykuala said...

Congrats on your audio offerings, Alex. It is a big leap forward.Keeping pace with tech advance is certainly a progressive thing.

Hank

Just Keepin It Real, Folks! said...

Way to go on audio! That is really awesome news.

Beverly Stowe McClure said...

Your audio books sound exciting. I enjoy listening to a story. It's easier on the eyes. I haven't seen any of the things you mentioned.
Have a great week.

Bish Denham said...

I might have to try my hand at a bit of fantasy.

Congratulations on your books going audio! What a nice compliment.

H. R. Sinclair said...

I didn't see the reunion, but I imagine it was just as fantastic as you said. Congrats on the audio. That's pretty fun!

Jemi Fraser said...

The audio books should be fun - congrats!
I still haven't seen a RiffTrax, but they sound like such fun! :)

Al Diaz said...

I posted the comment in the wrong post, duh! My brain is melting. Thanks a lot for the shout-out, my friend. I do appreciate it! Dragon Hugs!

Pat Hatt said...

Congrats on the audio versions. Sure sounds like an awesome show indeed. Fantasy should be fun to give a run.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

Your books will make great audio books, Alex. I'll check out Father Dragon's place.
Happy week, Alex!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

That's very exciting about the audio books. I've heard it's the only part of the book market that is actually growing. I'm very excited about the fantasy stories to come.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Madeline, it is a weird feeling.

Karen, good to know!

Al, you're welcome!

Dianne K. Salerni said...

Those playing cards look really cool. And congratulations on the audiobook deal! So exciting!

Rachna Chhabria said...

Congrats on the audio books, Alex. Its awesome news. Will hop over to Al's blog now.

Tonja Drecker said...

Fantasy, yay! And great news about the audio books. The screen shots had me smiling...love those. Off to Al's!

Unknown said...

I am literally the only person I know who can't deal with MST3K. I can't stand when people talk during movies. :)

Chrys Fey said...

Minions are just shaved Pikachus. Haha! Priceless.

I thought you didn't like Rafflecopter giveaways. ;) (Teasing.) Those playing cards are really neat.

Fantasy will be a fun one for the anthology for sure.

Congrats on the audiobook deal!

Toi Thomas said...

That's exciting news about your audio books. They are really great stories; I'm sure the narration will be good too. I'd love to have my books turned into audiobooks, but I can't imagine the type voice needed to pull them off.

cleemckenzie said...

Anything that makes someone laugh is worthwhile. Glad you enjoyed MST3K so much.

Fantasy? Oye. I'm not sure I'm very good at writing that. Have to give it some thought. And here I was all set to jump into the anthology this year.

I kind of like the Cherished Blogfest. I may have to take a look. Thanks for posting about it Alex.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the audio books! =)

SpacerGuy said...

Rifftrax is going from strength to strength and seems to be succeeding by popular demand. Its neat when a show like this comes together

Joanne said...

glad you enjoyed the Riff show. Sounds quite funny
Congrats on Audio book - narrated by James Earl Jones?? I would want Helen Mirren to read mine - anything just sounds better with a British accent.
Very cool - and I'm sure it will sound great.
Have a super week

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

It sounds like you had a really good time at RiffTrax. Congratulations on the audio book. I think that more people consume audio these days than read in the traditional manner. I know I've listened to a few audio books. It is just easier when you have a job that's on the road.

The Angry Lurker said...

I do like the theory on Minions!

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Minions are shaved Pikachus - LOL!

Your books will do well in audio.

Charles Gramlich said...

Haven't listened to Fate's warning in a very long time. Amazing they have been around so long.

Andrew Leon said...

I wish I had time for that kind of thing, right now.
I'm sure it was hilarious.

Cherie Reich said...

Minions as shaved Pikachus! LOL!

Congrats on your books being selected as audiobooks!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Tonja, they were funny!

Chrys, I don't! I couldn't think of any other way to do it. At least I kept it short.

Toi, thanks!

Lee, your books have fantasy elements.

Joanne, yes it does. The narrator does have a deep voice though.

Charles, it's really amazing.

J.L. Campbell said...

Sounds like the show was something not to be missed. Congrats on being selected for the audio book boost and yay! for the next anthology.

Misha Gerrick said...

MST3K sounds hilarious. ^_^

As for audio books... I've tried them, but just can't seem to get into let someone basically read to me.

A Beer for the Shower said...

Wow, that sounds amazing. I have nothing huge going on tomorrow. Will definitely try to catch a showing.

Also, I just have to say that I love a good Gleaming the Cube joke, which usually ends up making me sad because absolutely no one ever understands that reference.

J E Oneil said...

That show sounds like it was so hilarious! I wish I could go! And I totally believe all our childhoods have been ruined this summer...

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Your deck looks awesome. We play a lot of crib in this house, but sadly I can't order your deck because it's not available in Canada. Boohoo! Or I definitely would.

Sheena-kay Graham said...

Oh please. Minions are not unshaved Pikachu's. They're clearly the mutated ancestors of what we all know today as bananas. Watch the movie and see my point. No RiffTrax over in Jamaica but glad you had fun Alex. Those screen shots were hilarious. Yes! I voted Fantasy so I'm glad that genre won. Will check out A-Z blog and Father Dragon Al's post. Oh and those screen shots were hilarious. Though those DJ name business is no joke. I think there was some kind of disagreement between J.K. Rowling and a band that had a similar name to one of the magic fiction bands in her Harry Potter novels. So Marvel probably has their hand on the pulse watching out.

Murees Dupè said...

Congrats on getting your books made into audio books. Very awesome and exciting.

Nilanjana Bose said...

Sounds like a whole lot of great things happened to your week. So cool your books are being made into audio - congrats!

shelly said...

Hi, Alex! ***waving from Florida***

Roland D. Yeomans said...

So many good things going on. I wish you the best of sales with your audio books! :-)

Elephant's Child said...

Congratulations on your move to audio. And yay for anything which makes you laugh until your face hurts.

John Wiswell said...

Congratulations on getting optioned over into audiobooks! Any word on where they'll be available? Audible, Overdrive, or elsewhere?

And you make Rifftrax sound so fun. I'd love to see the team riff on Mothra.

Jenni said...

Congrats on the audiobooks! How cool it will be to hear your words read by someone else. I'm excited that fantasy was chosen. I'll need to see if I have anything ready to submit.

Birgit said...

It sounds like you had a great weekend and had a fantastic time. Whenever one can laugh that hard means you had a great time. You will see Mothra next? That outs a smile on my face. Congrats as well on your book going audio. I hope you like the voice of the person voicing your book.

Rhonda Albom said...

Glad you loved the reunion, you were so looking forward to it. Dare I admit, I have never seen Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Big congrats on audio books. How exciting.

klahanie said...

Hey Alex,

Although I haven't a clue about that reunion show, it does sound like fun.

Awesome screen shots, indeed!

Gary

Tyrean Martinson said...

I'll probably try to write a story for the anthology, although last year I remember getting swamped with other things in life and having to let it go. This time, I'll prioritize differently since short story writing has been my "relaxation" thing lately.
And, I'll definitely help Al.
I think it would scary cool to hear my books read by someone else - scary, as in, I hope my books sound good, and cool, as in - wow, someone with an awesome voice is reading my books. :)

Karen Lange said...

Audio books - that's great! Congratulations! It might be a bit strange at first to hear my books read by someone else, but I think I could get used to it. :)

DL Kennedy said...

The only thing my family enjoyed more than MST3K was Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

My fiction publisher does audio books, and I thought that would be cool.

stephen Hayes said...

I could use a good laugh so maybe I'll take you up on this. And let me also congratulate you on the audio book.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Brandon and Bryan, that makes you uber cool.

Joylene, sorry!

Sheena-kay - bananas! Glad fantasy won for you.

John, I will let you know!

Tyrean, thanks for helping Al. And it wasn't as scary as I thought.

DL, I remember that show!

Liz A. said...

Congrats on your books going audio. That market is exploding. So many people listen to audiobooks now, that'll find you all sorts of new fans.

Is the RiffTrax thing in theaters? Because I live nowhere near you...

Fundy Blue said...

I think that's really cool that your series will be on audio, Alex! Congrats! Fantasy for the anthology, eh? Should be interesting! Have a good one!

J.H. Moncrieff said...

My book was turned into an audio book without anyone telling me. It caught me completely by surprise.

I started listening to it, but had to stop because it weirded me out. The guy was pretty good, but it was just too surreal to hear someone I didn't know read my own words back at me.

I can't write fantasy, so I'm out, but I'll cheer on everyone else!

Helena said...

Congratulations on the audio version of your books! What a well deserved honor.

Of course I would love to hear an audio of my own stories, but at the same time I can be so critical about my stuff that my ears will get stuck on sentences that aren't rhythmic enough, or words that weren't quite right, you name it.

msmariah said...

I love MST3K. That show was a staple during my college years. I frequently force fed it down other people's throats and made them watch it! I hope I converted a few fans! Gosh I miss that show. This is yet another thing in the 90s that was great. Perhaps I just miss the 90s.

Dean K Miller said...

Cool on the audio books. I think that is a great expansion of the brand!

Patricia Stoltey said...

The problem with some readers of audio books is they don't check on the pronunciation of words before recording. I have an example like that on the recording of The Prairie Grass Murders.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Liz, it's in theaters across the country. Check the site for locations.

JH, it is surreal to hear. Fortunately, the guy doing mine is good and I think I can handle hearing it in audio.

Helena, I am concerned about the names although I tried to keep all of them simple.

MsMariah, we forced it down people's throats as well. Got a few converts that way.

Patricia, bummer. Hope the guys gets mine right.

Susan Kane said...

Would love to see the MST3K reunion show! August is possible for us. My husband is not a big fan, but he does chuckle.

Tamara Narayan said...

Glad you split your sides at that show. That sounds like fun. Congrats on the audio books of the Cassa series. That's really exciting. I wouldn't mind hearing my stories read aloud, but I'd be tempted to do it myself.

Mark said...

Minions are just shaved pikachus? Lol:) Man that's awesome:)

Nicola said...

Great news to know your books are now available in audio. Congratulations!

L.G. Keltner said...

I'm excited to see how the next anthology contest turns out! Fantasy is a great genre and should inspire some fantastic stories!

SK Anthony said...

Audio books! That's so exciting, Alex!!!

Congratulations!!!

Michael Di Gesu said...

Congrats on going AUDIO, ALEX!!!! Very cool!

LOVE the new theme! i haven't written any new fantasy in AGES... this will give me such incentive. I hope this will be the beginning of me getting back to writing. It's been too long.

dolorah said...

Of course I can write fantasy, lol. Now lets just see if I do. I'm writing a flash fiction to one of Warrior Muse first line prompts, so maybe that will be a kick starter for me.

Congrats on the audio books; drivers need those :)

Christine Rains said...

Thanks for sharing the Reunion show fun. I might try to write a fantasy story for the anthology. Let's see if I can think of one when the theme is revealed. :) Congrats on the audio books!

Stephanie Faris said...

YAY!!! Will your audiobooks be available through Audible? I'm always looking for good things to listen to there. One of these days I'll figure out what RiffTracks is. I looked it up once but I've already forgotten.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Susan, drag him along anyway.

LG, we are working on the theme right now.

Michael, hopefully it prods you to write.

Stephanie, I believe so. And you need to watch one of the shows.

Nissa Annakindt said...

Nice to hear about the audiobook thing. I've thought of doing that for one of my poetry books some day. I'm not a big consumer of audiobooks myself, though. I'm more of a 99 cents ebook person since I've got a poet's level income. ;)

Nissa from
http://myantimatterlife.wordpress.com

Sherry Ellis said...

Fantasy is a good theme for next year's anthology. I'll have to start thinking about what I might write.

Annalisa Crawford said...

I still haven't completely got my head around what MST3K actually is, but I'm glad you enjoyed it - you've certainly been anticipating it, so it's always nice when it pans out as you want it to!

Sandee said...

When I was working audio books were a wonderful friend. I listened to them while going from meeting to meeting. Very relaxing.

Have a fabulous day. ☺

Leandra Wallace said...

That sounded like a fantastic show! There's nothing like split-your-gut kind of laughing. =) Congrats on the audio books, that's awesome!!

Brandon Ax said...

So cool to see those guys together. I loved that show.

I would love to have audio books made of mine, that is awesome.

Denise Covey said...

Excellent that you're going audio and that your trilogy was chosen as a test. And Fantasy it is...

mail4rosey said...

Glad you had a great time!! Laughing's good for ya. ;) Noted too: I like shorts, and you've got me curious about the Superman one. :)

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the audio books! Playing cards are cool.

Allison Barron said...

Ooooh audio books!? That is awesome!

Lynda Dietz said...

The show sounds like it was a hoot! I love being sore from laughing. Always a good sign.

Thanks for the reminder to keep checking out the A to Z blogs. I really missed being able to participate this year, and Jeremy's sounds like a theme I would have liked. I'll have to head over there.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Nissa, I don't listen to audio books either. It will be really weird to hear my own.

Rosey, the Superman one was bad...

Lynda, his theme was great!

Loni Townsend said...

That MST3K reunion looks fun! And yay for Fantasy! That's the one I voted for!

SpacerGuy said...

Jeremy has top trumped the challenge yet again with truly awesome retro ads, he really deserves to win gold for such creativity.

Anonymous said...

Yay for the next IWSG anthology being fantasy-themed! I might just enter this one. Congrats on your series being made into audiobooks! I need to look into that. I've already had a couple of people ask me when my books will be available in audio. It's time to jump into that market. Off to visit Tyrean and check out some of the other links. Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Wow, Alex, audiobooks is just amazing. My heartfelt congratulations! You deserve it!

I love when I can leave a movie theater laughing that hard. That's why comedy is one of my favorite genre's it just takes you away from it all for awhile. Love it! Glad you and your wife had so much fun.

Jeffrey Scott said...

Sounds like a great RiffTrax. I love those older cornball shorts. Like the driving video or Superman stamps. Would love to hear them jeered at.
Also, I love the theme that rocked the challenge for this month. Vintage ads was almost something I put on my theme. Then I thought it would have been too much.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Spacer Guy, he has won the You Rock Award.

Jeffrey, you can do it next year. Plenty of old ads out there.

Unknown said...

I'm so glad RiffTrax was all you wanted and more! Sounds like fun!

I'm so excited your Cassa series is going to be on audio! People are getting more and more into listening to books on their commutes and while doing chores and things. Good luck!

kjmckendry said...

So awesome that the Cassa world will be on audio book! Congrats! And love the idea of playing cards!

kimlajevardi.com said...

Loved the Gleaming the Cube screen shot! I haven't thought of that movie in forever. Ah...childhood memories.

Have a great weekend, Alex!

Cindy said...

Congrats on the audio books. I would probably enjoy my book being read. Sometimes they act out books too, which can be strange as they don't always interpret it the same way as the author imagines.

Sandra Cox said...

Congrats on the books going audio. That's great!

Al Penwasser said...

If I heard my book read by someone else, I'd wonder, "Couldn't get anything GOOD to read?"

The Happy Whisk said...

Playing cards, how fun is that. Very cool. And I love that you laughed so much that you nearly fell on your butt. That's the best.

Happy New Week to you and your honey bunny.

Unknown said...

So Battlestar Galactica changed your life, well, the novel you wrote based on that photo did. So cool!

Sandra Cox said...

Isn't it amazing what sparks creativity? Your spark certainly had a great outcome:)

mail4rosey said...

I think it's just lovely that your first published book was from an early writing. Not many people can say that to be true!

Heather M. Gardner said...

I'm so glad the Reunion show was so funny! We all need that kind of side-splitting laughter once and awhile. :)

Congrats on the audiobooks!

Heather

Deniz Bevan said...

I think I might cry. I missed a playing cards giveaway?!? I love playing cards! I have a whole collection! I still dream of someday finding that Lord of the Rings deck of cards I once saw in a shop but didn't have enough cash for (I was 14)...